Analytics

Friday, June 30, 2017

Post #3272 M

Quote of the Day

When we accept tough jobs as a challenge to our ability 
and wade into them with joy and enthusiasm, 
miracles can happen.
Arland Gilbert  


Tweet of the Day





















Image of the Day

Courtesy Richard B. Levine/Newscom

Justin Amash Against the No Sanctuary for Criminals: THUMBS UP!

Justin Amash
Yesterday at 5:20pm ·  ·
I voted no on #HR3003, No Sanctuary for Criminals Act.
This bill increases the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS's) detention of suspected illegal aliens, defunds sanctuary cities, and limits the ability of state and local governments to direct their law enforcement resources. In doing so, the bill violates at least five constitutional amendments.
The bill violates the Tenth Amendment by prohibiting any state or locality from doing anything which would restrict the ability of their law enforcement officers to "assist" federal immigration enforcement, giving state and local governments legal immunity for providing such assistance, and limiting transfers of aliens to sanctuary cities for criminal prosecution.
I have voted in the past to defund law enforcement grants to sanctuary cities that prohibit information sharing between their law enforcement and federal immigration officials (including #HR3009 in the 114th Congress), but this bill also prohibits any actions or policies that may restrict local law enforcement's cooperation with, or assistance to, federal immigration enforcement. This goes far beyond just facilitating the exchange of information that local law enforcement may already come across in the course of their own activities; this bill unconstitutionally enables the federal government to coerce states into helping with actual enforcement of immigration laws. Plus, it gives immunity to states for assisting with immigration enforcement, and it affirmatively punishes states for noncompliance.
Congress has no authority to direct state and local officials in this way. Our Constitution establishes a system of dual federalism. In Congress, the laws we make are to be executed by federal officials; we may not commandeer nonfederal officials.
The bill violates the Fourth Amendment's prohibition on unreasonable seizures and the Fifth Amendment's due process requirements by increasing DHS's use of, and authority for, warrantless arrests and detention of suspected illegal aliens. As their text makes clear, the Fourth and Fifth Amendments apply explicitly to all "people" and "person[s]" within the United States. The Constitution uses the word "citizen" in other provisions whenever that word is intended. This interpretation of the Constitution's applicability is shared by the U.S. Supreme Court, including among the conservative justices.
The bill violates the Eleventh Amendment—which largely prohibits Congress from unilaterally permitting lawsuits against states—by allowing the victims of crimes committed by an illegal alien to sue a state that declines to fulfill a request from the federal government to detain the alien.
Lastly, the bill violates the First Amendment by likely interfering with the ability of state and local officials and other individuals to make statements regarding immigration enforcement policies and priorities.
I support securing the borders, and I have voted to defund sanctuary cities, but I swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution, even when it means I must oppose bills aimed at policy goals that I support.
It passed 228-195.

Facebook Corner

Not if they hoard it.
 I suggest you review George Bailey's response during the run on the savings and loan. It's not like it's all in the bank safe. But suppose it is deposited in a bank; that money can be loaned out, contributing to the local economy. Or maybe he buys municipal bonds, etc., financing, say, local infrastructure.

 But Bastiat is really talking about win-win transactions between the businessman and the consumer.
Your perspective reflects ENVY, a morally corrupt vice, not virtue.

(Reason).  Gary Johnson's back! So, are libertarians greeting the two-time former Libertarian Party nominee for president with open arms? Not unanimously, no. http://reason.com/blog/2017/06/30/libertarians-still-arguing-about-gary-jo
Johnson ran the shittiest campaign ever; he violated basic libertarian principles, e.g., on the Nazi cake conscription policy. He seemed more focused on luring progressives than disaffected right-libertarians in the Paul/Amash/Massie camp. I mean, when Johnson only wins 3% of the vote against the 2 worst candidates of all time, after a promising double-digit start, he really messed up--and if you don't see that, you're in denial.

Choose Life: Adorable Big Sisters










Political Cartoon

Courtesy of Robert Ariail via Townhall


Musical Interlude: My Favorite Vocalists


Neil Diamond, "Yesterday's Songs"

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Thursday, June 29, 2017

Post #3271 M

Quote of the Day

Calmness is the cradle of power.
Josiah Gilbert Holland  


Tweet of the Day










Trade and Arbitrage




Eyeing the Free Market




TrumpCare Is Also a Failure




The Cruz Healthcare Amendment




Political Cartoon


Courtesy of Steve Kelley via Townhall


Musical Interlude: My Favorite Vocalists


Neil Diamond, "America"

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Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Post #3270 M

Quote of the Day

I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have.
Thomas Jefferson 


Tweet of the Day










The Tragedy of North Korea





Remy: Without Government People Will Die!




Seattle Rains Money On the Campaigns of Political Whores




DEAD WRONG: Minimum Wage Hikes "Help" Low-Wage, Inexperienced Workers





Choose Life: Big Siblings Feeding Younger Ones






A Policeman With a Heart




Political Cartoon


Courtesy of Gary Varvel via Townhall


Musical Interlude: My Favorite Vocalists


Neil Diamond, "Hello Again"


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Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Post #3269 M

Quote of the Day

I think that how one lives is more important than how long one lives. 
So I don't feel too bad. 
Lim Yoon-taek (32 Year old South Korean cancer victim)  

Tweet of the Day






Classical Liberalism




Is America in Retreat?




Sanders Wrong On Healthcare



Choose Life: Adoption Is a Beautiful Thing










Political Cartoon


Courtesy of Gary McCoy via Townhall


Musical Interlude: My Favorite Vocalists


Neil Diamond, "Love On the Rocks"

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Monday, June 26, 2017

Post #3268 M

Quote of the Day

A man on the street is pointing up to the sky. 
"Look, an angel!" he yells. 
Passersby laugh. "You fool, that is only a cloud.
"How wonderful it would be to see angels where there are only clouds. 
How sad it would be to see only clouds where there are angels.
Anonymous  


Tweet of the Day

Image of the Day


JFK




Gov. Rauner (R-IL)




First Amendment: Also For Kids





Political Cartoon


Courtesy of Gary Varvel via Townhall


Musical Interlude: My Favorite Vocalists


 Neil Diamond, "September Morn"

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Post #3267 J

Social Security Disability

We IT geeks tend to be unusual. For example, one of my Catholic Newman buddies back at the University of Houston tended to hop from project to project when he needed money to meet his expenses vs. steady work for one company. An old high school girlfriend wondered why I didn't simply relocate back to Texas and work like one of her IT friends, who could make a living anywhere he had an Internet connection. (In theory I could do a similar thing and perhaps have been interviewed for a half dozen relevant gigs; and in one job (with SunGard Higher Education, an ERP publisher in the higher education space, back in 2008), I basically did such a role in a quasi fashion: the company was based out of Malvern,PA, but I mostly worked from home in MD unless I was training or providing training on site for clients. Among other things, customers could save on our travel expenses if we worked at home.)

Now the IT industry isn't necessarily alarmed to see a lot of projects or clients on a resume. I've worked at consulting companies which would lay you off  if you didn't have a scheduled follow-up project. I've worked for at least 3 companies that subsequently went bankrupt (two of them in the Internet economy bust). At one of them I remember working one week at least one day each for 4 different clients. I've worked on government contracts in their last year, only to see RFP's for a recompete canceled or positions eliminated in an awarded contract. But many traditional managers are ill at ease with "job hoppers". I remember talking to a recruiter for one contractor about the job hopper allegation, and he laughed, explaining many of his employees worked for 6 or more clients in a single year.

Now over the last couple of years I've occasionally discussed the social security disability reserve crisis. In essence, social security disability has morphed into an expanding secret welfare program for middle-aged blue-collar and other workers and their dependents, which has little to do with deteriorating health but widening criteria. Twenty years or so ago maybe 3 million were on social security disability; the number has more than doubled to almost 5% of the eligible workforce.

The 2015 Budget Act extended DI's day of reckoning from 2016 to 2022-3 by diverting some contributions intended for OASI (i.e., old age pension) reserves. This obviously is not sustainable because when you exclude Treasury interest payments on reserves, OASI has been operating at a deficit (relative to worker contributions) since 2010 on a pay-as-you-go basis; this means that reserves are slowly eroding to ensure that retirees receive their full  promised contributions. If and when OASI reserves are depleted (estimate 2034), it doesn't mean that that retirees won't get checks (so long as there's a payroll tax mandate), but they'll receive a reduced check commensurate with payroll tax receipts. (Of course, politicians will eventually act to ensure full checks because the senior citizen lobby is extremely powerful.) This has been a known issue for a long time, with Bush squandering much of the political capital from his reelection pushing a partial privatization reform a dozen years back. Obviously diverting OASI funds to DI is like robbing Peter to pay Paul. No one in Washington relishes the politically unpopular idea of raising payroll taxes on most Americans, reviewing COLA adjustments, deferring eligibility, and/or means-testing of benefits. But clearly DI program overruns are part of the problem

I have an IT professional friend who has had a tough time holding down steady work for a number of years. His employer didn't have a problem with his technical performance but expressed a concern over some interpersonal issues. Many companies have an Employee Assistance Program which might mitigate certain issues, say, financial problems, alcohol or drug problems, or team conflicts. (Just to explain: from way back in my MIS coursework, I'm familiar with applied psychological studies, e.g., Cougar & Zawacki,  showing that many IT personnel experience a lower social need but a higher growth need in their work. By "growth need" I'm referring to growing one's background and skills in technical areas. Most people are probably familiar with the geek stereotype, where the geek does not have much experience or success in dating relationships and while able to solve thorny technical issues with ease, are more uncomfortable or tentative in social situations.) So, for example, the EAP may suggest that a socially inept techie meet with a psychologist a few times to develop more effective strategies in coping with interpersonal issues at work.

My friend was in a state of denial over the issues at work, which he felt were exaggerated and considered the situation as politically contrived. But here's the salient point: the psychologist in reviewing his unusual work history suggested that he might be diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, which could support an application for social security disability. While my friend realizes autism is a serious issue, it was not relevant in his circumstance and pursuing a disability claim would be fraudulent, never mind contrary to his political belief system.

That millions of middle-aged workers are finding it difficult to find work is a tragedy. Welfare is morally hazardous and erodes one's own healthy self-image; most of us derive a measure of happiness and self-worth from being a contributing member of society. I have faced a number of challenges in my career; I never wanted to surrender my career as a professor in the middle of a recession; I found myself starting from scratch again as an IT professional. I've moved across the country, often at my own expense,  to add clearances, certifications, and in-demand technical skills/experience to my resume. (Yes, it did help that I didn't have a wife and family depending on me during slow periods, but then I didn't have an emotional support system when I came home at the end of a day.) I don't have a magic solution for those having to reinvent themselves in their 50's or later. What I can tell you is economic nationalism and mercantilism are not the answer, that government does not create opportunities: it restricts and impedes them.


I Reached a Minor Milestone In My Retirement Savings

Some dividend payments from ETFs in my IRA's (traditional and Roth) over the weekend finally pushed me over a symbolic target for the first time (of course, the market could take it back tomorrow). I had been just shy of the target when the tech sector (with the FANG stocks (Facebook. Apple/Amazon, Netflix, Google)) recently corrected. Most of my recent transactions have been flat to slightly down except for one global health industry ETF up slightly.  I did check my 401K plan at work (which I haven't modified over the past year in terms of choices, percentages, etc.) and was surprised to see it was up 7.5-8%  for YTD--not bad considering the limited options. Do I think the Trump rally will continue? Certainly not at the same rate. And I'm keeping a lot of powder dry in the event of a correction.

My gut feeling is the market will be positive over the coming year. But this is not a financial blog; past performance doesn't guarantee future results, do your own due diligence, and invest at your own risk.
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Sunday, June 25, 2017

Post #3266 M

Quote of the Day

The only safe ship in a storm is leadership.
Faye Wattleton  


Tweet of the Day





Image of the Day



Obama: You Built THAT



HSA's




The Free Market Is the Answer




Political Cartoon


Courtesy of Gary Varvel via Townhall



Musical Interlude: My Favorite Vocalists


 Neil Diamond, "Say Maybe"

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Post #3265 J

False Positives

A week ago I remember debating whether to pull up west of Memphis in Arkansas for the evening for a gas fill-up and a hotel while there was still daylight. I thought I had cleared most of Memphis, although I-40 hadn't narrowed to 2 lanes, which I preferred for on-off. (I recently discussed aspects of my move here.) I wasn't running on empty (but had normally filled up between a quarter to a half tank), and I was also hungry and needed a restroom break. It turned into a logistics nightmare because when you are towing a car you have to turn at right angles, and even gas stations in cities don't have much room to maneuver around. Not only did I need to occupy a pump lane, but I had to stop in the cross lane near the convenience store. I considered myself lucky just to get back to the interstate (never mind find a hotel had parking I could use), but now it was pitch black. I didn't know if there was anything between Memphis and Nashville, maybe a 3-hour drive away. I had started the day in West Texas, and I was definitely tired. I was relieved to see a Days Inn sign for a facility maybe an hour's drive east. I then saw two interim exits with hotels; the first exit was a waste of time (the hotel wasn't readily visible off the main drag from the exit), but I did find success off the second--with a Days Inn, to boot. (As I explained I've had good luck parking UHaul's at Days Inn in the past.)  The hotel clerk in this case was less flexible, wanted me to park on the inside curb on the right side to the lobby, but I didn't mind--I just needed a good 5 or 6 hours of sleep.

I thought I was in the clear when I handed my credit card to the clerk, and she returned it to me, saying my card had been declined. I've certainly seen and/or heard of people having run up credit cards to their credit limits, but even with all the expenses I had incurred before and through the trip, I couldn't have used more than a third of my credit limit; I frequently scrutinize each and every charge and have occasionally challenged a dubious transaction, and the issuer fraud unit, to its credit, will occasionally challenge a transaction (maybe one every 2 or 3 months) I almost never carry a balance but invariably pay off my statement balance. I was horrified at the idea the clerk might think I'm some sort of deadbeat. She actually anticipated the problem: "Does your issuer know you're moving?" (I hadn't closed on the apartment lease, so I hadn't made an address change.) I tried calling my issuer and got a message that there was suspected fraudulent activity on my account, but I quickly got put into some queue (have you ever tried to call an issuer on a Saturday night? I think it probably took 15-20 minutes of being on hold.) As like any good DBA, I'm big on redundancy and quickly gave her another credit card. (For some reason, I've had problems doing things like the USPS change of address with my primary issuer. They try to do a minor verification charge. USPS claims the transaction fails; the card issuer says it processed USPS transactions. I get nowhere trying to resolve the discrepancy. USPS has not had an issue processing my second credit card.)

I don't mind the occasional false positive; it's good that the issuer is being preventive. But it's extremely humiliating when the transaction blows up in my face.

The DMV or How to Ruin a Saturday

To be honest, when I left Maryland in late 2013/early 2014, I had no intention of returning to Maryland anytime soon. (I was also recently looking at prospective offers from Louisiana, Texas and southern Virginia.) But on top of everything else, you usually have to get a new state drivers license within a month or so of moving. Every state has its idiosyncrasies. For example, in WV, they were anal-retentive about documenting your residency; I ended up having to make 3 (40-mile round trips) trips over the copy of my apartment lease. In SC, I had to pay some sort of car usage tax. In MD, you have to get regular vehicle emission tests.

The driver's license transfer usually requires evidence of residency and/or various PII, like your social security number card, passport, birth certificate, etc. There's also a vision test. So I decided to go ahead, after checking what I needed and operating hours. They posted fewer hours on Saturday and only covered driver's licenses (vs vehicle registration) (I usually want to take care of both). But I don't know when I can get time off work to take care of this stuff.

I went to Google Maps and noticed that a heavily used route indicated tolls, which I thought was unusual, for the MVA office some 20-odd miles away. There was an I-95 alternative, but I know there's also a toll.  So I figured, fine; what could it be: $2-3? Hell, no. More like $8. ($6 if you have EZPass.) I suppose readers may be laughing--"I've seen worse." I was used to getting nickled and dimed in the Chicago suburbs. I don't mind legitimate tolls (for user fees vs. tax expenditures), but government has been known to continue to collect the tax,  after the project has been paid off.

Now how could my day get worse? Just guess (I bet you can). It took a while for me to find it with my Garmin because there was no sign and the building was back a distance from the street. When I get there, the parking lot is almost completely empty. You would think if there's a time the MVA is crowded, it's when most people are off work. The only guy there in another car said, "Is it open?" I said it should be--but then noticed a couple of signs up saying it was closed today.

So I headed home, only this time I take a detour to I-95, because I wasn't going to pay another $8 to cross that bridge.

Now how else to cap off my Saturday? How about a trip to the local post office? Oh, and no parking there? (There is free public parking a couple of blocks away.) I had to return a security token to my former employer. (These generate random 6-digit numbers every several seconds you might need to access, say, company email.) Only the postal clerk is arguing that the address doesn't match the USPS database. I don't know the issue, but I was pretty sure about the address because I had many things, including my former company PC, shipped to the same address. I don't want to argue the issue. It was still funny hearing her mispronounce Yuma ("You-ma" is the target; I think she pronounced it: maybe "Umm-ah"). It reminded me of a math professor I had once TA'ed for, an East European who pronounced "naitch-er-ul" numbers.

Tweet Wars and Civility

The idiom goes that "you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar". I realize that I don't have hundreds of followers on Twitter, despite attracting more than 1000 impressions a day over extended periods of time, including dozens of tweets which have attracted hundreds, even thousands of viewers. And, to be frank, I can be blunt and call people names like "idiots" or "morons".  I could tell you that I've been called even worse things, which, of course, I don't republish. I don't start out sniping at any fool that tweets absurd things; I would have my hands full just following Trump. There are lots of things I just let slip by. Usually I'm putting my old teacher/professor hat on making a succinct rebuttal.

Now, of course I realize I'm not going to convert an ideologue, socialist or progressive with one timely tweet; I also know that some (if not most) Twitter users aren't amused by opposing tweets and aren't serious about debating their point of view. When and why do I reply? It may reflect my mood at the time, the proverbial one straw too many, an extremely obnoxious, over-the-top meme, trite political spin or partisanship, etc. And if there is a reply, what might escalate the Twitter war is when the user responds with predictable spin or propaganda, not even addressing the substance of my tweet.

Yesterday was a good example. I was scanning one of the trending hashtags (I think it might have had to do with a baseball player) when I ran across a strident, off-topic pro-government healthcare tweet. (I think some people try to gain impressions by sticking trending hashtags, even unrelated ones, at the end of their rants.) And to be honest, I was not in the mood to suffer fools gladly. The progressive was totally uninformed; for example, she might not know there's a law against hospitals refusing emergency care on the basis of ability to pay; Nearly half of uninsured qualify for government health care or tax subsidies. Government has restricted openings of new hospitals (certificate of need), new medical schools, occupational licensing restrictions/scope of practice (e.g., nurse practitioner ability to treat routine health matters). There are time-consuming paperwork requirements, not to mention government regulation over provider activities, on providers. Government policies constrain the practices of private sector hospitals, even nonprofit Catholic ones. To a large extent, government policies discourage price competition among providers, marketing of alternative, e.g., barebone catastrophic healthcare policies and limit competition within and between states. We see constraints against pools across states. I could literally go on at some length.

You would think the fact that sectors largely constrained by government policy (e.g., healthcare and education) are among the most inflation-bound would chasten even the most ardent progressives, that the showpiece of socialized medicine, the VA hospital system, has been the subject of numerous scandals, would embarrass the committed Statists.

No, instead the ideologues persist in the belief that a handful of overpaid executives dominate the sector, not the government, which controls prescription drug approvals and at last count half or more of the dollars spent in the sector. Never mind that health insurers have tiny profit margins next to, say, Big IT like Apple or Google. Or that ObamaCare has seen a mass exodus of providers, health insurance rates have skyrocketed, and Congress has to funnel huge amounts of subsidies to keep remaining providers in the system.

The government has its special interests, like the bureaucrats, various benefit advocates, and the people whose medical expenses are subsidized, directly by taxpayers or indirectly by other policyholders having to offset the losses of below-cost insured.

We can see a prior example of government malpractice catering to farmers during the Great Depression. In a deflationary environment, the government was worried that farmer debt was unsustainable, that they needed to prop up commodity prices to ward off catastrophic collapses in the farm sector. So they manipulated prices by imposing quotas. Do you think consumers with limited resources benefited from artificially higher produce prices? Of course not.

I'm just scratching the surface of the Fatal Conceit, that the privileged elite are an effective surrogate for 320M consumers. Government makes innovation all but impossible in the sector. Extended discussions are almost impossible in a 140-character format. (No, I don't have academic credentials in healthcare or economics, but at one point I had an employer which had a government contract under CMS. and I administered some related government databases, I subscribe to free market medical newsletters, and I've widely read various sources. I know and have talked to people in the profession.)

So why do I call these ideologues "idiots", "morons", "fascists", etc.? In part (especially given the economic meaning of the term "fascist"), I think they are accurate. But mostly, I'm trying to wake these people up, like Cher's signature slap across the face in "Moonstruck". Does it work? Probably not.  I've had a handful of language police Twitter user rebuke my use of language, and I have zero tolerance for language elites. It's just not worth my message getting confounded with my use of blunt language. I've been tapering off and will continue to do so.
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Saturday, June 24, 2017

Post #3264 M

Quote of the Day

Ideas are like rabbits. 
You get a couple and learn how to handle them, 
and pretty soon you have a dozen. 
John Steinbeck  


Tweet of the Day























Image of the Day




The Big Cost of ObamaCare




The Right of Self-Defense





Probably the Best Thing I Have Read Over the Last 20 Years




Porcfest 2017 Just Concluded: Here's Last Year



Political Cartoon


Courtesy of Jerry Holbert via Townhall

Musical Interlude: My Favorite Vocalists


Neil Diamond, "Forever in Blue Jeans". On my high-rotation list.

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Friday, June 23, 2017

Post #3263 M

Quote of the Day

Better shun the bait, than struggle in the snare. 
John Dryden  


Tweet of the Day








Comparative Advantage & Economies of Scale




Consumer Surplus




Healthcare Costs Are Too Damn High




Sowell On the History of Slavery




Political Cartoon

Courtesy of Gary Varvel via Townhall

Musical Interlude: My Favorite Vocalists


 Neil Diamond (with Barbra Streisand), "You Don't Bring Me Flowers". Neil's last #1 was inspired by a disc jockey who mashed together solo cover performances of Diamond and Streisand.


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Thursday, June 22, 2017

Post #3262 M

Quote of the Day

If you have knowledge, let others light their candles at it.
Margaret Fuller  

Tweet of the Day

















































Blockchain Technology: A New Business Model




Freedom in a University?




Wrestler Kane Is a Libertarian


Start 2 minutes in.




Choose Life




A Bigger Family










Political Cartoon

Courtesy of Robert Ariail via Townhall


Musical Interlude: My Favorite Vocalists


Neil Diamond, "Desiree". His fifth #1 on the A/C chart in the 70's.

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